Milking system feed box



June 28, 1960 D. E. GOLAY 2,942,574

MILKING SYSTEM FEED BOX Filed Dec. 26, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gmwmmm Arrae/ws-W June 28, 1960 D. E. GOLAY 2,942,574

MILKING SYSTEM FEED BOX Filed Dec. 26, 195? 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aria/e049 MILKIN G 2 SYSTEM. FEED Q Donaven E; Golay; Cambridge City, Ind, assigiibr to Chore-Boy Manufacturing Co Inc Cambridge'Cityf Filed=Dc. 26, 1957, SernNo. "105,424"

3 Claims. oil-119 a one for -'each cow; and wherein a predetermined amount of feed: may "be supplied to an individual-box' the amount of i feed being .permissibly :varied-between feed-boxes in accordance with'the'feed desired-to :besupplied to an.

individual :cow in turn dependent upon' hen-milk I'production:

A primary object 'ofth'e'invention :is 'to provide a simple yet" extremely durable feedbox m'e'chanism-- which will not be displacedbYL'PICSSlJI "of cows thereagainst: or

lunging of cows, and which will serve to prevent cows from stepping" forward to any great 'degreeL A further important object of theinvention is to provide a feed box wherein there will be nowaste of feed, and particularly wherein the'cows head will be contained and iheriview' of surroundings be"'lim'ited;

Further advantagesand objects of the invention reside in the uniqueconstructionaswilk be fset outii'by' ithe appended claims, "and alsointh'e' simplification and ease of installation. Other objects and advantages will occur to those versed in the art in the following description of one particular form of the invention, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective and partial section of a structure embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in top plan and partial section of the structure; and

Fig. 3 is a view on an enlarged scale of a feed delivery actuating mechanism in end elevation and partial section.

A frame is provided, herein shown as being set up from tubular members comprising a U-shaped yoke member 10, the lower ends of which are interconnected by means of a cross member 11 in turn fixed to a vertical post 12.

A length of sheet metal 13 is U-shaped in form and has rounded vertically disposed flanges 14 and 15 along the forward edge portions. The sheet metal 13 is inserted between the members 16 and 17 of the yoke and the flanges 14 and bearing against the forward sides of the members 16 and 17 and are secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as by the rivets 18. A conical floor or bottom 19 is provided to engage the lower end of the sheet metal 13, and to extend forwardly of the cross member 11. A front shield 20 of substantially semicircular form is fixed to the sheet metal 13 at the forward vertical ends thereof and extends forwardly around the floor 19 as is indicated in Fig. 2. The shield 20 serves to prevent the cow from pushing feed out onto the cow floor from over the floor 19. The above elements form a feed box F.

A pin 21 is fixed in the floor 22 on which the cows will stand. The post 12 telescopes over the upper exposed length of the pin 21 while the lower end of the post 12 will bear on the floor immediately surrounding the pin 21. Of course there may be an adjustable posics fateur ice tioning ofthe. post. 12 along...the pin 21 desiredfiial though this i snot necessary... I v A stub-23:13. fixed .to the yoke members 10 .'in..-.any suitable manner, herein .shown'as .beinglfixed to a bracket}? 24in; turn attachedetothe cross': member 25' Tof the yoke 10 by bolts or rivets 26. -.The..stub '23'exteiids.frbmthe. bracket24 at anangletol thecross member 25 greater than :theangleat whichTthe cow is. desired to be positioned inrelation to the sidewall '27 ot the milking .area. The stub 23gtelescopes= within a brace I'membrJZSK-and may; be adjustably .received 'thereinor may be .fixed thereto depending-upon the standa rdiiation of. dimensionssto' be maintained in supplying..the. overall mechanism to' the user to fit within the-building .to be. used; In .anyevent r the two members 23- and .29. become arigid-brace meme... bergbetween-the .wall 27 and'the yoke [10f The membera. 29-.-is -secured to firewall-'27 by any suitable means, such as by a flange 30 bearing against the wall.

A diagonally, disposedbracemember :31 is provided with-a wall bearing flange 32, and receives in its opposite end the stub 33 which is fixed to :the bracket.=24. -Th e' two members 31 and-;33 are tied together to'form a uni- 1- tary-rigidbrace. Thus, by the. combination of the. two members 29 and 31, the yoke- 10 is fixed-in. position relal. tive to the wall 27, and relative to rotation of the post. 12. about the-pin 21r This; mounting of theboxth'rough the post 12 and the-pin 21' provides the minimum '.-",tru'.:.-.v turalelementsappearingbetween the boxand the fioor22ll.

1 A ltube p 34 extends- -ho rizon-tally .frdm,- :the ,l'outs ide. through-the sheet metal 13to. terminate by an end -35,lthe under portion of-which-is -cutaway to leave .the .under edge 36. An auger 37 is rotatably positioned withincthe tube-34and terminatesatthe' lowerend portion .36 of the tube 34;- The-tube-34 has its: outer end connecting... with a box 38;: Theauger 37 extends-transversely across thembox 'andx-carries ron its end: removed .from the. box,.-:-. imafiribda-mannen a -ratchet wheel-.40 which is carried w within a housing 41 in turn fixed against rotation by being mounted on the side of the box 38. A shaft 39 is fixed to the housing 41, the ratchet wheel 40 rotating thereon. A rocker arm 42 is mounted to swing around the shaft 39, and carries on an outer end a dog 43 which is biased to bear against the teeth 44 of the Wheel 40. A helical spring 45 has one end, the inner end, fixed to the shaft 39, and its outer end fixed to the rocker member 42. A cable 46 has one end fixed to the rocker member 42 and is carried around a drum 47 and thence out through an opening 28 through the housing 41.

The cable 46 is carried upwardly to a tube 48 which extends above the floor area 22 on which a cow stands to eat out of the box, and thence downwardly to any suitable position, such as along a post 49 to terminate by a free end onto which a handle 50 is secured. A gravity feed tube 51 enters the topside of the box 38, and connects at its upper end with a conveyor tube 52 through which feed will be moved by any suitable means, such as by an auger 53. Rotation of the auger 53 will cause feed to drop from the tube 52 through the tube 51 into the box 38 in turn about the auger 37 so that when the auger 37 is turned, feed will be conveyed from the box 38 through the ends 36 and 35 of the tube 34 to discharge feed onto the box floor 19.

The auger 37 is intermittently rotated by means of the cable 46, by pulling downwardly on the handle 50. A predetermined amount of rotation of the auger 37 will deliver a predetermined amount of feed onto the floor 19, and therefore the cable 46 may be pulled downwardly along the post 49 a distance in accordance with the calibrated markings 54. Of course if more feed is desired than one complete operation of turning the auger 37 by the travel of the cable 46 the operation may be repeated since the spring 45 returns the arm 42 over the teeth 44 to permit the wheel 40 to be rotated and correspondingly the auger 37. Releasing the handle 50 of course permits the spring 45 to return the arm 42 as indicated.

The box 38 is fixed to the leg 17 of the yoke 10 by any suitable means, such as by the bracket 55. The end 35 of the tube 34 overhangs the shorter end portion 36 a sufficient distance to prevent a cow from reaching the end of the auger 37 and either manipulating it or wetting the feed in the end of the tube by her tongue.

Thus it is to be seen that a very simple structure yet most efiective in the point of saving of time in installation and in maintenance is provided, and a structure wherein no elements are required to support the feed box by means running to the ceiling of the room in which cows are milked, so that all of the supporting elements are located either from the floor area or from the wall.

While it has been indicated that the post 12 is telescoped over the pin 21, without securing means, a cross bolt or rivet 57 may be provided if so desired to prevent lifting of the structure from the floor 22 by a violent movement of the cow.

Between milking operations or when desired by the operator, any surplus feed within the feed box may be removed therefrom and the box conveniently cleaned by flushing it out with water. A drain plug 58 slidingly fits within a central opening 59 of the conical bottom 19 and may be removed therefrom during this washing operation and replaced thereafter.

Therefore while I have described my invention in the one particular form, it is obvious that structural variations may be emplo'yedwithout departing from the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not desire to be limited to that precise form beyond the limitations which may be imposed by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a milking system having a floor on which cows stand loose and a fixed side member along the floor, a feed box comprising a support post extending upwardly from said floor; a cross bar carried substantially horizontally across the post; an inverted U-shaped member defined by downturned legs, the ends of which are fixed in spaced apart relation one from the other to said cross bar and extending upwardly therefrom, and interconnecting the upper ends of said legs to an upper cross member; a feed box bottom positioned over said cross bar between said legs 'to have a portion extending from both back and front sides of the cross bar; a back shield extending upwardly from and around the bottom portion back of said cross member, said shield having forwardly extending vertically disposed ends secured to said legs, to provide an opening between those ends for a cows head to extend over the rear portion of said box bottom; a front, feed retaining shield extending upwardly from around the front side of said box bottom to interconnect with said back shield vertical edges, the front shield extending upwardly from around the front side of said box bottom and completing with said back shield the encircling of the box bottom, the front shield being of a height to permit the cows head to extend thereover and retain feed on said bottom, and the back shield extending to a greater height limiting the movement of the cows head across the feed box; and means interengaging said U-shaped member and said fixed side member fixing said U-shaped member at a desired angle to said side member.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which there is a feed conducting member laterally entering and discharging through said back shield over said bottom.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which said post comprises a pin fixed to said floor and a tube fixed to said cross bar and telescoping over said pin, and means interengaging said tube with said pin holding said cross member against lifting and rotation in respect to said pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,081,947 McCornack June 1, 1937 2,652,026 Iddings Sept. 15, 1953 2,682,255 Kleeman June 29, 1954 2,691,958 Lage Oct. 19, 1954 2,827,877 Hart Mar. 25, 1958 

